Laying in a Hospital bed last week in Nepal, my team leader asked me…”Ryan, we are visiting a leper colony next week and we want you to preach there!” So, there is two funny things about this picture.
First of all I am in the Hospital again, why you ask? Well I had a bacteria infection and a parasite in my stomach and liver that was shutting me down. So, I was admitted to the Hospital for 4 days and put on IV and a ton of meds. (that made me alot of fun to be around and loopy!)
Secondly, due to the large amount of medicine pumping through my body at the time, and lack of knowledge of what a leper colony is? I had heard my team leader incorrectly, in my ears i heard we were going to a Leopard Colony! I assumed it was a park or a zoo for Leopards. I was confused why my team leader wanted me to preach to the cats! But, I reasoned that maybe I needed to prepare a message for the visitors of the park. And, I was excited to see leopards and preach in a zoo!
Well, the good news is, I got better, and I am healed in Jesus name. They let me leave the Hospital after 4 days of treatment. When I returned to my team we were talking about our plans one day for ministry and I mentioned my excitement for the Leopards and everyone just stared at me. Someone had said, “Ryan, you mean Leper Colony…ha ha ha…Right?” To avoid the embarrassment of being totally off my rocker, I smiled and laughed and said “of course!”
So yesterday, we decided before going to preach and visit the leper colony to go on adventure up a huge mountain next to our house….GOOD STUFF! We hitch hiked, climbed, walked, and had random adventures with God. We got very lost at one point, but then God showed us where we needed to be. After a long day of trekking up and down the mountains, we headed back to the Leper Colony. We loved on, shared with, and spent time with them all. And the love and joy they showed us was amazing. Love…it’s the international language. In Nepal, you need no translator, just a smile and a warm heart and you can sit and have a good time with anyone here!
So, what have I learned from all of this? Leopards don’t live in colony’s…Hospitals in Nepal have nice beds for “World Race” standards…When being pumped full of drugs in the Hospital you some times say silly things to your team mates like “my heart feels sparkly”, or you assume you are preaching to Cats…Jesus still HEALS…being right all the time is boring…random trips up a mountain with God are uber fun…Sometimes it takes getting lost to find where you are supposed to be…and I am convinced you can speak to someone with only a smile! God is faithful, and sooo good!
I love where God has me!
Love you all
Ryan
